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By Kevin Gauthier

Recall, if you will, Dear Readers, the very first ‘ by this humble writer I that appeared in issue I of our venerable SIN, the subject of which was a review of the 10th anniver— sary U.P.E.I. Day festivit- ies, and which ended on a . somewhat despondent note by questioning the usefulness of U.P.E.I. to Islanders, (or at least the perceived usefulness), and asking why the indifference to the "Island university" is so pervasive on the Island. The limits of space (or rather the limits of the Editor's patience with my journalistic rantings) forced me to delay further exploration of that particular topic until today; and so, by a rather circuitous route through whid’rI managed to draw the wrath of every bIBiness, ~ science and engineering student on campts, I have finally returned to my original topic.. (Cheers of Joy and Elation.)

Having taken the time and trouble to make a few inquiries, I have unearthed some rather telling inform- ation that appears to support the thesis being proposed. The Registrar's Office, after a suitably impressive period of ~ official silence, has re- leased estimated enrolment figures for this year. U.P.E.I. currently has 1365 students enrolled, which marks a l 0/0 increase over last year's enrol— ment. In addition, there are 731 part-time students (taking less than 3 courses), which is a modest increase OVBr last year. The trend at UPEI over the past five years has been one of declining enrolment,“whid1 in itself is no cause for wailing and gnashing of teeth, since it is a trend common to most North American universities, a trend due largely to the rather predictable increase in population which resulted from the return home of soldiers after World War II.

This trend twards declining enrolment does cause some ccnsternation, however, when one places it side by side with the opposite trend that is developing at Holland College and other similar institutions across Canada. The College has recorded

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1r.‘ ‘1: new Fr'I‘fifl

modest increases in enrolment for several years now. This year, en- rolment at Charlottetown Centre is 721, at Summer— side 265, and at Royalty Centre over 800. “Charlotte-

A , tom Centre alcne had

1947 applications. And how did UPEI do? (All the above—mentioned

figures are for full-time

_ and part-time students.)

‘ Perhaps even more telling

is the fact that since 1969 enrolment at Holland College has increased .

, almost 700% and the College

has expanded to 4

- "campuses", while UPEI

a

’ and reports! \. space.) perhaps most annoying of all, _

enrolment has declined and we have failed to broaden our physical base beycnd what. we ncw occupy. ‘ Now that such a flurry of

" statistics has you

convinced that perhaps I am not entirely crazy, allow me to put forward what my barely adequate intellect sugfists might be the cause(s) of our apparent decline. First and foremost, and this should come as no surprise to anyone who reads the" ' SUN regularly, the situation UPEI finds itself in today is caused by the tremendous

lack of interest and enthusiasm that exists in today's high school . graduate for a liberal

arts education, which is I what UPEI is supposed to be built upon. Secondly,

UPEI has suffered greatly because of the shoddy, if not downright neglectful, treatment we have endured from the provincial ' government and the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission. (But let's save that juicy morsel for later for herein lie many" volumes of potential inflammatory future articles Watdi this 'I'hirdly, and

is the negative attitude many Island sduool teachers; guidance counsellors, and ‘ principals have tonard

UPEI. Believe it or not, some of these pecple still advise Island students not to attend UPEI if they want

a 'Worthwhile"degree. Why? Good questicn. As far as I' know, a degree frcm UPEI

is every bit as "wortlwhile" and valuable as any otherr at least from the viewpoint of perséhal development, (although if me measures the value of a university

degree in dollars, one might argue otherwise). Frankly,

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UPEI has failed to reach out to Islanders andmake itself relevant for them. We can sit here (11 our ,, grassy hill'i‘and whine about being mappreciated, but if whining doesn't solve our problem then action must. Our Extalsim department, whid1 offers 19 courses to 414 students has not been

7 alloned to expand” rapidly "

enough to keep’UPEI abreast of‘ Islanders and what they Want.

' Of course, me must not mderestimate the effects of the mergermhidi created UPEI in the first place. Interest in the old institutions of St. Dunstan's University and Prince of Wales college was always great in P.E.I. and when the government of Alec Campbell

m 18,7 he: page: »

“WENT POPULATION.umand HOLLAND cure:

alike, .into one barrel, the

elsewhere.

threw the whole bmdm, Protestants and Catholics

very heavens shodc. And now that the oamotim has ~ subsided, perhaps Islanders have turned their interest ' 'I'here are no sides to dioose at UPEI, and the old battle 'of the ‘ Orange and Whid‘l Islanders have always taken great amusement, has declined to the occasicnal

rude joke perpetrated by

one side at the, expense of the other. Perhaps if we could ccmn'noe our Chap- jlains to engage insa brief holy war cn campus we * might back the attentim and devotiai of a few, of the natives for whcm this place was built.

CHARLOTTETOWN MALL

OPEN l0a.m. — 10 p. m. $594—$425

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